Activists mobilize for busy August on U.S. immigration, Obamacare

August 01, 2013|Reuters

* Aimed at fall showdowns set in U.S. Congress

* August 2009 Tea Party town halls had national impact

By Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - August might not be much of arecess for U.S. lawmakers weary from bruising budget fights andnomination showdowns: the break promises a frenzy of meetings intheir home districts with activists trying to pressure them onimmigration and health care reform.

Progressives, Tea Party conservatives, the business andfaith communities and other interests have spent weeks - and insome cases months - planning for the five-week break that beginsFriday when lawmakers return to their home districts.

In addition to attending "town halls," or open meetings thatlawmakers will be holding for voters, many advocacy groups willstage events and protests of their own across the country.

The activity is aimed at what promises to be one of thestormiest fall sessions of Congress in years, with partisanshowdowns likely over government spending, Republican efforts todefund the health care reform law known as "Obamacare" andcomprehensive immigration reform, all on the eve of the 2014mid-term election season.

Congress is going on its break after an acrimonious coupleof weeks that featured clashes over the budget, student loaninterest rates and nominations put forth by President BarackObama for key jobs.

The intensity of mobilization is a tribute to theeffectiveness of Tea Party-dominated town halls in 2009 thatfeatured bitter debates over Obama's push for health care reformlegislation.

Thanks largely to YouTube videos that went viral, the townhalls had a national impact, far beyond the districts where theywere held.

Since then, what were once low-key, routine meetings betweenmembers of Congress and constituents have become in some cases highly organized political events aided by coalitions ofnational organizations.

Dick Durbin, the No. 2 U.S. Senate Democrat, said that onimmigration reform, his party is determined to avoid a repeat ofwhat happened to health care in August 2009.

LESSON FOR DEMOCRATS: 2009 TOWN HALLS

"We're not going to leave a void here. We're going to fillthis with our message and we're going to do it in a veryforceful, positive way," Durbin said.

He and Democratic Senator Tom Harkin are planning an eventin Harkin's home state of Iowa on Friday in the district ofRepublican Representative Steve King, a staunch opponent ofimmigration reform.

The conservative group Heritage Action has announced a"Defund Obamacare Tour" to include events in nine cities headlined by Jim DeMint, a former senator and Tea Party favoritewho is now president of the Heritage Foundation think tank.

Also participating in the tour will be Rafael Cruz, fatherof Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who is calling for thewithholding of funds from Obama's signature health care law.

Immigration reform supporters, ranging from the NationalCouncil of La Raza to the Service Employees International Unionto the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also view August as a criticaltime for fate of the immigration reform effort.

Though a broad immigration bill passed the Democratic-ledSenate by a wide margin, its chances are bleak in theRepublican-led House of Representatives, which is considering aseries of piecemeal measures but has made little progress.

"This is the beginning of a long, hot summer for the Houseof Representatives," said Eliseo Medina, internationalsecretary-treasurer of the SEIU.

The SEIU, La Raza, America's Voice and other groups that arepart of a coalition called the Alliance for Citizenship plan tobe active in the districts of 52 lawmakers, with 360 events. Oneevents will be a car caravan across Northern California thatwill end up in Bakersfield, the home district of RepresentativeKevin McCarthy, the third-ranking House Republican.

McCarthy is a particular target of immigration supportersbecause his district includes a large number of Latino votersand has a local economy that depends heavily on agriculture.

On Thursday, activists sought to get a jump on the Augustrecess with a protest on Capitol Hill against House Republicansfor moving too slowly on granting a path to citizenship forundocumented immigrants. About 30 activists were arrested.

Opponents of the immigration reform effort are also busyorganizing for the recess.

NumbersUSA, which favors lower levels of immigration, isencouraging its network of some 2 million activists to attendtown halls and send faxes and emails.

But Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, said hebelieves there's a lot of "hype" around the August recess thathas been in part built up by the pro-immigration groups.

"This may be their only chance" to build momentum forimmigration reform, Beck said.

He added that he didn't think it would work. Beck said hebelieves many Republican lawmakers may hold fewer town halls, inpart to avoid the heated immigration issue, or may decide tohold "telephone town halls" instead of in-person gatherings.